Welcome back Bolton Bears! This promises to be another great year here at Bolton Elementary! As we begin this year it is always good to set goals and set your path to success. Spend a few minutes thinking about specific strategies that you plan on using to make this year your most successful year ever. Explain what strategies you think will make you have a successful year and then write about your goals for the future. What college would you like to attend? What career you would like to have as an adult? Dream big and remember that this year at Bolton is one step closer to the dreams you have for your future! Make it a great year!
There are always new things about every new school year. A new teacher, new friends, a new bus and even a new schedule! This year at Bolton Elementary we also have a new principal! Mr. Floyd Lowman became the new principal of Bolton Elementary on September 1, 2010. We know that he is going to enjoy getting to know all of the students and families of Bolton Elementary. We thought our school blog would be a great way to introduce our school to Mr. Lowman. Please share a paragraph about the best things at Bolton that you would want Mr. Lowman to know! Tell him the things that make our school special! We know Mr. Lowman will enjoy reading our blog and learning about all of the wonderful things at Bolton Elementary!
Bolton Elementary is a wonderful school and has many wonderful students. This has been a busy year and many special things have happened this year in our classrooms and even on field trips that have created lasting memories. As you look back at your year at Bolton describe two positive things that you have done or remember. What did you do that helped make it a positive memory for you and also others here at Bolton Elementary.
During the past two weeks Bolton students, teachers and parents have collected money to help the people in Haiti who are recovering from the earthquakes they have recently experienced. We asked our students and staff to bring in any extra pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, dollars and checks during our fundraiser. Our school has been able to raise approximately two thousand dollars that has been given to the American Red Cross for use with the Haiti relief effort. If you worked for the American Red Cross and it was your job to decide how the Bolton donation was used, tell how you would use the money and why you think it would make the most difference for the people of Haiti.
This year at Bolton Elementary teachers are reading "The Leader in Me", by Stephen R. Covey. We are excited to watch how students will discover the leader inside themselves as the year progresses. To begin the 2009-2010 school year we would like for students to brainstorm what it means to be a leader in the school, their classroom, and in their personal lives. Please post your thoughts on how you will become a leader here at Bolton, your feelings about being a leader, and what your leadership behaviors will look like this school year.
As the 2008-2009 year comes to a close take some time to reflect on what you have learned, how you have learned, and how teaching and learning have changed at Bolton School. As 5th graders you are finishing the first leg of your formal education. You are getting ready for middle school, more freedom and more responsibility. Reflect and respond to the following.
You have been taught BEARS, which basically helps you understand what kind of culture we want here at Bolton school. BEARS just helps you understand what is expected in every location of our school. Do you agree or disagree that BEARS helps you be part of a positive school culture? Please explain why you agree or disagree.
Technology has become a bigger part of our school with the addition of Smart Boards, the use of blogs, and the many skills you have been taught in the computer lab. Do you like using these tools? Do they help you learn? Please explain why and how they help, or why they do not help.
Sometimes you are asked to work by yourself, and other times we ask you to work with others as you learn. Do you prefer to learn working by yourself, or by working with a partner or in a group? Please explain why or why not.
What has Bolton School meant to you? Is there a special teacher or person here that has helped make you successful? How have they helped you grow and learn? Please explain.
Leave your thoughts at Bolton on this blog! Your comments will be shared with Bolton teachers, and archived on this blog so you can go back later and see what you and your classmates have written! (Photo by Carf via Flickr)
The title says it all. Year one implies there is a future for Teach21and there will be. Teach 21 will be implemented with a new group of teachers next year, and this trailblazing group will continue to grow and learn and pass it on. That alone tells me that Teach21 has been a great success. If you go back to the origins of this blog you will see the milestones along the way. There have been pitfalls and glitches, but they've not been excuses for not moving forward. Teach21 has changed my teaching significantly. In the lab I have tried to teach our students how they can use technology to show what they know. It has made me more of a facilitator, forced me to become more connected within my own school and worldwide. That's exciting! The impact on students has been significant. I don't know what it's impact will be with regard to NC's End Of Grade Test scores, but I know it has had a big impact on students and their ability to connect, create, and be lifelong learners. I will never forget what one fifth grader who has been at Bolton since kindergarten told me about being a class with a teacher who has been part of Teach21. She said this year has been her best ever. Digging deeper into what she means I found that the Smartboard was a part, but it was more of what they did, and how they approached learning than it was having a glowing interactive whiteboard in the room. All in all, I know our students have some skills they didn't have before. The success within our group of educators will be evidenced through their reflections on their own blogs so check those via our links. Please comment and let us know what is working where you are. This is an ongoing process and that makes being in education a rich experience.
Bolton students had a unique chance to pick the brain of a popular children's book author April 9. Mrs. McMillan's third grade reading group read and studied the book Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmell Smith. Mrs, McMillan contacted Mr. Smith, who lives in New York City and setup a video conference with her students and Mr. Smith. Third graders prepared questions and asked them, and Mr Smith had wonderful stories to share about how developed his books. He also previewed some of his other other books like The War With Grandpa and The Squeaky Wheel. This event was shared with other classes who watched from all over our building through a streaming broadcast of the event using Ustream. We even had those classes use the chat feature to ask Mr. Smith a couple of questions as well. If you missed it - you can still experience it. Watch the recording of our Ustream event. Broadcasting Live with Ustream.TV
Fifth graders have looked deeply into the story of Jamestown, Virginia - the place where the United States was born. You've looked at the history, the challenges and the despair. Pretend you can go back in time and help this colony not only survive, but prosper What recommendations would you give to the leaders and people of Jamestown that would make their lives better and help the colony succeed. Please respond to the location of the fort, the quest for gold, their ability to get food (hunting and gathering/growing), relations and trade with the Native Americans (don't forget Pocahontas and Chief Powhatan), and their fear of attack by Spain (don't forget spies). Post your recommendations here.
Bolton Elementary students participated in a mock election using 21st century learning skills October 28. Since the beginning of the school year our school's tri-weekly broadcast team has been covering the election by profiling candidates, covering political parties, voting, polls, and doing so in a non-partisan way. The school's broadcast team, thanks to the support and permission of parents and our school's principal, were allowed to attend the Joe Biden rally held at nearby Wake Forest University Thursday Oct. 23rd. Each of the seven members of theWBBB staff interviewed people like university officials, local law enforcement officers, people in attendance, and campaign volunteers. Two members of our staff actually met Senator Biden and shook his hand.
Teachers all over the school have been teaching about the election giving our students a well-rounded and comprehensive education about the process. A genuine effort was made to make the mock election as realistic as possible.
The mock election was run from this teaching blog using a web 2.0 survey tool that allowed students, teachers, and staff to quickly cast their votes, and have them electronically tabulated.
ELECTION RESULTS
PRESIDENT (692 teachers/students casting votes)
WINNER: Barack Obama 576 votes (83%)
John McCain - 101 votes (15%)
Bob Barr - 15 votes (2%)
NC GOVERNOR (658 teachers/students casting votes)
WINNER: BevPerdue - 331 votes (50 %)
Pat McCrory - 194 votes (29%)
Michael Munger - 133 votes (20 %)
Local CBS affiliate, WFMY News 2 covered the mock election in the 6 PM newscast Oct. 28.
A metaphor is a comparison. We use it everyday when we write and speak. Using metaphors when we write makes us look really smart because it shows we can compare two things creatively. The key thing to remember about metaphors is that they don't use the words like or as. Let's build a database of metaphors we can all use on our blog. Here are some examples.
When Mary was really good at playing X games we could say - Mary is a calculator.
When the wind blew the other day we could say/write - The pine tree danced in the breeze.
If you are really good at science you could write - Penelope is Einstein.
Your blog comment today will be metaphors that you will create. Add five metaphors like these to our blog in your comment under your teacher's name today. We'll give you some starters to help you with this assignment. When we finish, we'll have the biggest resource for writing metaphors that our school has ever had!
Students in Ms. Ivey's fourth grade class were interviewed after their second lab experience with blogging on the Bolton Bloggers Blog. They told what they liked about blogging, how it made them feel, and why they think it is important for students in the 21st century.
The great thing about blogs are that it gives you a world-wide voice. You can express how you feel, what you think, and what you hope for the future. As we started the 2008-2009 school year you learned about BEARS for every location in our school so you would know what success looks like.
Now is your chance to share how you feel about BEARS and something new here at our school - your school unifoms. Please post a comment under your teacher's name expressing your feelings about BEARS, school uniforms, and tell us what is working, or how we can make these more successful.
Ex. What I see are students entering our school with their uniforms and I see pride. Our students are coming to school dressed for their job - to LEARN! Our BEARS has unified our teachers, and students. Everyone is speaking the same language and our expectations are very clear to students. Our students are learning to be respectful, responsible citzens who have a positive attitude toward school. Mrs. McIntyre
